Parents aspirations for their children revealed

Deborah Punshon

A new survey has revealed the jobs parents would prefer their children to do when they grow up.

A doctor is the top choice of occupation among mums and dads, followed closely by engineers, dentists, accountants and architects.

Other professions which topped the parent poll were lawyers, accountants, scientists and electricians.

However, journalists, drivers, hairdressers and brokers were all careers that appeared at the lower end of the scale.

And over 53 per cent of parents in Scotland would actively discourage their children from working in hospitality despite tens of thousands of vacancies.

The independant survey of 100 parents, conducted by Best Western, also revelaed that a career as an athlete ranked lowly despite British Olympic success at Rio Games.

Rob Payne, Best Western Great Britain’s CEO, representing the group’s 260+ independently owned and managed hotels, said the research showed how much work the hospitality industry still has to do.

“We have enjoyed incredible broadcast exposure for our industry over the last 20 years, probably more media profile than any other industry and yet despite, that we are struggling to fill positions and persuade parents and young people that hospitality is a first choice career and not just a summer job.

“It offers great, diverse and rewarding careers offering fast promotion opportunities based on hard work, not grades, providing school leavers and graduates with a career for life and yet we are clearly suffering a lack of confidence in our industry and its prospects.”